Federal Court of Appeals says there is no fundamental right to change sex on birth certificate

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 on Friday that Tennessee does not unconstitutionally discriminate against transgender people by not allowing them to change the sex designation on their birth certificates.

“There is no fundamental right to a birth certificate that records gender identity rather than biological sex,” 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote for the majority in the ruling. upholding a 2023 district court ruling. The plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that the Tennessee policy was created out of animosity toward transgender people, as it has been in effect for more than half a century and “long predates medical diagnoses of gender dysphoria,” Sutton wrote.

He noted that “State practices are all over the map.” Some allow changes to the birth certificate with medical proof of surgery. Others require less medical evidence. Currently, only 11 states allow the amendment of a birth certificate based solely on a person’s declaration of gender identity, which is what the plaintiffs seek in Tennessee.

Tennessee birth certificates reflect the sex assigned at birth, and that information is used for statistical and epidemiological activities that inform the delivery of health services across the country, Sutton wrote. “How, it’s worth asking, could a government maintain uniform records of any kind if its citizens’ disparate opinions about changing norms in society controlled the government’s choices about language and what information to collect?”

The plaintiffs — four trans women born in Tennessee — argued in court filings that sex is properly determined not by external genitalia but by gender identity, which they define in their brief as “a person’s core internal feeling about their own gender.” ”. The process, first filed in federal court in Nashville in 2019asserts that Tennessee’s ban serves no legitimate government interest, while also subjecting transgender people to discrimination, harassment and even violence when they must present a birth certificate for identification that conflicts with their gender identity.

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Helene White agreed with the plaintiffs, represented by Lambda Legal.

“Forcing a transgender individual to use a birth certificate indicating the sex assigned at birth causes others to question whether the individual is in fact the person named on the birth certificate,” she wrote. “This inconsistency also invites harm and discrimination.”

Lambda Legal did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Friday.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement that the issue of changing sex designation on birth certificates should be left up to the states.

“Although other states have taken different approaches, for decades Tennessee has consistently recognized that a birth certificate records a biological fact of whether a child is male or female and has never addressed gender identity,” he said.